>> absolutely. >> they were a busy, married couple. meeting up for a romantic valentine's night rendezvous. >> they always gaveach other kisses, hugs. >> but that night some one had other plans. >> has been what? >> he's been shot. >> before she even arrived. her husband was dead. >> i could see him laying on the ground. >> i couldn't think of a soul who would want to hurt the man. >> then some one let a secret slip. soon police were questioning a suspect with a motive who had suddenly changed his looks. >> in fact when he showed up at work he was beardless.

>> there was only one problem. he had a rock solid alibi. >> where did that leave you? >> worried about my case. >> that's when the phone rang. >> he had no voice. i did. >> a tip. a tire track. and a case one detective will never forget. >> it was a shot in the dark. i took it. >> i'm any lester holt. this is "dateline." here is keith morrison with a perfect spot. >> a winter's night in a southern forest. the ink black darkness parted briefly by their headlights. and closed around them like a shroud as they made their way in separate cars through the foggy overcast. then here it was. the rugged clearing, the muddy patch of sand and dirt away from the world, a place for their valentine any tryst. as if they could see without the artificial light so much as a hand in front of their faces or

the fate lurking out there in the dark. waiting. but, what a way to begin a love story. better probably the hot air balloons, the man so loved. and the motorcycles on which together in day light they discovered their own special place, the remote forest clearing in a place called belton bridge park. though park is much too grand a word for the little pull-out beside the chatahoochie river. north of atlanta, georgia. >> i knew them both well. >> they were richard and stacy. it was their love of scouting that won the admiration of greg. >> how did you meet them? >> both of our sons were cub scouts. >> with kids. boys, especially. they were naturals. >> stacy was a ball of energy. full of ideas.

would literally drive us to do things. >> the go-getter. >> the go-getter. we jokingly called her mama spread sheet. because everything she did had to be laid out in a spread sheet. >> reporter: what a planner. >> she was. >> reporter: scouting is how bill fanning got to go them too. >> richard was a good motivator. i saw how much fun he was having. i kind of asked if i could tag along. got involved with scouts myself. >> reporter: stacy was a den leader for the cub scout pack. was she pretty good with the kids too? awe she was pretty good with the kids too. she was. she and richard worked well together. as they did with the three sons. greg was surprised when he told them they were biologically stacy's. >> i thought they were his children. >> reporter: in the way he treated them and they treated him?

>> yeah, yeah. >> reporter: when richard aadopted the younger two of three boys. cousin connie was thrilled. >> my heart melted. i was just like that is the best thing. >> he wanted to adopt those kids. because he loved those children. and those children loved him. >> reporter: richard himself, marched to the beat of his own drum. >> my brother was always a big kid. >> he was certainly not a suit and tie sort of person. could not sit down behind a desk. >> he had to be out and about. he was a good athlete. >> look a pied piper to his niece. >> he would rollerskate with us. throw a ball with us. or color with us. he was our cool uncle. >> reporter: no wonder. how many uncles take their 5-year-old niece and 7-year-old nephew for a ride in a hot air balloon. >> i could barely see over the edge. so it was just cool seeing skies and clouds all around you. pam martin was one of his balloon buddies.

>> people would fight over him. can i have richard today. he was just the best crew person. we looked being around him. he was very eccentric and funny. >> reporter: and stacy? >> i liked her. she was friendly. she was nice. >> reporter: a happily blended family or anybody could see. stacy was primary breadwinner. administered a sizable medical practice t richard was a maintenance manager but remained the main care giver for the kids. and together the two of them were, well, people noticed. >> they always gave each other kisses. hugs. so they seemed wonderful together. >> all of which may explain why on valentine's night, 2010, richard and stacy decide to meet. maybe even make out a little at their special place here in the woods. to say what happened next was shocking was of course an understatement. >> haul county 911. what's the emergency. >> oh, my god.

please, i need help right now. >> reporter: the voice on the 911 call was stacy's. the victim, of whatever happened here, was her husband, richard. he had arrived at their rendezvous first. when she got there later, he was lying on his back on the ground beside his truck. >> i'm at this little park on belton bridge road. my name is stacy schoek. >> he's been shot. >> he's been what? >> he's been shot. he is dead. >> ben franklin of the hall county sheriff's department got the call. there he was valentine's night all but groping, as he drove a dark, road by the river. >> it is in the middle of nowhere. that creates a special kind of dark you can't appreciate until you are in the middle of it. >> reporter: detective franklin is an experienced man. and this? >> this was one of a few cases

where the more i dug, the less sense that it made. >> reporter: no, nothing made sense about this. >> a murder so sudden and so brutal. was it a robbery gone bad? the investigation was just beginning. when we come back. tire tracks in the mud that belong to neither richard nor stacy. >> you could see richard's impressions pass over those. then you can see those pass back over richard 's. that let us know the vehicle was here before richard got here and likely left after he was dead. >> it had to be the killer.

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if there is such a thing as a perfect spot for murder, then this just might be it. >> this is remote, my -- >> it is pretty secluded. >> if you didn't know what to look for you would miss the sign. >> there is just a void on the side of the road. just a dark void. >> reporter: it was going on 11 p.m., february 14, 2010 when detective franklin found the place. >> and so this is the entrance to the park where richard was killed. >> reporter: that night the cops lit up the crime scene surrounded by a clearing of bare soil, sand and muddy dirt. >> we got this place lit up like it's christmas time. if these lights weren't on. >> you can't see your hand in front of your face. >> reporter: like that that night? >> yes. >> reporter: we will spare you the gruesome images of richard schoek, suffice it, shot five times, three times through the body, twice through the face.

he lay on his back near the open door of his truck. pretty ugly crime scene, right, in terms of what happened to him? >> yeah, particularly gruesome. >> reporter: what did this say to you right away? >> that's everkill with the placement of the shots. >> reporter: it was pretty clear from the get-go this was not a robbery. >> the fact that richard hat his jewelry, wedding ring on, a fairly expensive watch he had on, there was cash on the center console of the truck, undisturbed, the truck itself was still here. it was ripe for the taking, running, on, the door was open. >> reporter: something else the detective could infer from the track of the bullets through richard's bed. he must have gotten out of his truck and approached who ever shot him. >> when stacy found richard, the truck was running, it appeared he pulled up and got out of the truck to approach the person who shot him. which was a compelling thing.

something that really got our attention. >> reporter: who was it? who did richard approach? who ever it was was long gone by the time stacy arrived. so, not much to go on. except, when the police technician trained his lights on the clearing from the side, just so, a whole new picture suddenly emerged. a story in tire tracks including a set of tracks that belonged to neither richard's truck or stacy's suv. >> you could see richard's impressions pass over those. that let us know that vehicle was here before and likely left after he was dead. >> reporter: had to be the killer. but how could common tire tracks help them find who ever did this? having seen what he could, detective franklin headed back to the sheriff's station to meet stacy and record her statement. it was after midnight by then.

>> this feels unreal. >> reporter: stacy explaned it was her weekend to care for her grandparents. and richard planned to come by valentine's day to cook dinner. he arrived at 5:30. >> i had my valentine's stuff sitting for him, waiting on the desk, you walk in the back door. he was like, mine are out in the truck. but i thought we would do that at the park. >> reporter: because they had already planned a brief rendezvous at the park. >> he said come and meet me at the park. it's secluded. we'll exchange our valentine's. and he gave me a kiss. and said maybe makeout. >> they were dark nights. they beth knew the way intimately. >> we had ridden by that park, gazillions of time. lots and lots of times. even when we were dating we would go and -- find little

obscure places and make out like teenagers. >> reporter: so after dinner, richard left for the park first, she said. she followed a bit later. when a night nurse arrived to look after the grandparents. >> i think i probably pulled out of the driveway at 9:20 or so. i called richard. and it went to voice mail. and i didn't know why. i didn't leave a message. and i left -- >> reporter: when she got there. >> i knew something was wrong. i saw his truck immediately. because the lights were on. and so i pulled down and i headed right towards his truck. as soon as i could see him. i could see him laying on the ground. >> reporter: oh, but -- life is a comp everybody knows. even lovers aren't always straight with each other. these however were investigators

were talking to. she knew they would ferret out her secret sooner or later. so right away she came clean. >> i was, had been having an affair for, several, six, seven months. >> reporter: an affair. his name was juan reyes he worked in stacy's office in a job she had gotten for him. >> you know, i am in deep with juan. i know that. i am telling you. >> reporter: yeah, she certainly was. stacy and richard owned the house reyes lived in with his family. she met juan for sex at an apartment stacy rented for the purpose. paid for his truck, cell phone bills, and she admit she'd had just taken him to vegas and and disguised it as a work trip. >> did juan know you were supposed to meet richard at the park? >> how did he know that? >> i told him, probably tuesday night. it was either tuesday or thursday. >> reporter: was stacy saying

juan may have been the killer. >> no, i just -- i can't i guess i have seen enough tv to know that -- strange, things happen. but i can't -- i can't imagine him doing that. >> reporter: but the detectives certainly could. >> we started getting some direction. and we have this unknown set of impressions. so we have a third party at the scene now. we have to ask ourselves is it juan. it was looking really good at that point. >> time to go and have a little chat with mr. juan reyes, even if it was 4:00 in the morning. >> coming up. >> we knocked for a while. we knocked on windows. knocked around the house. never could anybody to the door. >> where would someone be at 4:00 a.m. if not in bed? when "dateline" continues.

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>> richard schoek, 46 years old had been escorted suddenly from this life as he waited for his wife and in the secluded georgia park on valentine's day. there was an outside chance of course that it would turn out to be a simple case of murder by mistaken identity. maybe richard showed up at the wrong place at the wrong time. or maybe he witnessed something he wasn't supposed to see. but when stacy told the story of her affair with this guy, juan reyes, police knew they were listening to a motive old as time. jealous boyfriend gets rid of competition. the cops showed up at juan's house that very night. >> we knocked for a while.

knocked on window. walked around the house. never could get anybody to the door. >> you knocked on the door. politely. >> law enforcement banging on the door, side of the house that kind of thing. >> reporter: had he fled? run away? that morning the detectives want to his work place to see if he would show there. he did all right. but -- >> his appearance had changed from the information we had gathered from different sources. that showed he had a beard. >> reporter: chief of detectives at the time and worked with franklin. >> in fact when he showed up at work that morning. he was beardless. >> reporter: or at least he had removed his formerly full beard and shrunk it to an appearance altering goatee. now, juan found himself at the sheriff's station. he agreed to talk without a lawyer. he sat in the interrogation room more than four hours with several detective having a go at him. >> it is my understanding that

you and stacy are romantically involved? >> yeah, yeah. >> reporter: he spilled all of that. the affair. the love nest. the extra goodies stacy showered on him. then they caught him on something. stacy had already told the detectives she informed juan on tuesday or possibly thursday about the plans to meet richard that sunday night on valentine's day. >> when did she tell you that? >> she told me friday. friday after work. >> would you find it odd if i told you that she made a statement that she told you earlier than friday? >> no, i mean i remember the conversation on friday. she mentioned it before that, i wouldn't, i wasn't thinking about it or didn't pay attention to it. i'm forgetful some times. >> reporter: was he forgetful or

hiding something. >> let me ask you this, did you have anything to do with what happened to richard? >> no. >> do you know who did? >> no. uh-uh. >> reporter: so they asked him? where was he before and after dinner on valentine's day? >> me and my son went up to blockbuster, we ate dinner about 7:30. by 10:30 i was in bed. i don't sleep much, three, four hours, later i'm up. tossing and turning. >> wait a minute if he was up tossing and turning, how did he not hear the cops banging on his door? >> i don't know what to till you, i was in my bed. >> we were there. we rang the doorbell, eight, ten, times. >> all right. [ indiscernible ] >> you also said that you're a light sleeper and toss and turn, maybe get three, four hours, that's it. >> right, i was up about 4:00.

tossing and turning. looked at the clock at 5:00. >> we were there. >> i didn't hear you. >> juan reyes was like a brick ball. didn't do it. didn't know who did. really? the polygraph said former chief of detectives tripp told a different story. >> the polygraph results indicated he was not telling the truth or being truthful to those relevant questions posed to him about the homicide. >> reporter: questions such as -- did you shoot richard schoek? do you know for sure anyone who shot richard schoek? were you present when richard schoek was shot? >> he knows where richard is going to be. he is in an affair with stacy. he is not at home at 3:00. 4:00 in the morning the night of the murder. he shows up the next morning. altered his appearance. so when you put all that together, there is a lot of

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there can be few things in life, as shocking as disorienting as the sudden death of a loved one. especially one so affectionate, endearing, so apparently happy that when the dreadful news came with the word murder attached. >> i couldn't think of a soul that would want to hurt the man. i couldn't think of anyone. >> reporter: richard and scouting buddy bill fanning spent the evening together the night before richard was killed. so bill heard him get the phone call from stacy about their plans for valentine's day. he said we are making plans to get together up near her grandma's. >> reporter: she was stag up --

she was staying up there for the weekend. she was looking after her grandmother. >> reporter: was he happy? >> he thought that's great. >> reporter: a week later he was at bill's memorial. stacy asked him to gift eulogy. >> one of the most difficult things i have ever done to get up and take to him. i remember looking down at honorary pal bearers, all scouts, not a dry eye there. >> reporter: at the end of the service, everybody wrote messages to richard on balloons and released them into the air. all fond memories said his nephew brian. >> everybody has their own personal little story. richard helped me tie, my first knots in my tent. richard helped me build my first fire. you could tell the cub scouts he was working with that he touched their lives like he had me and my sisters. >> reporter: the hall county sheriff's department was working

on their only lead. >> we were focusing pretty hard on juan in the very beginning. >> reporter: juan reyes the boyfriend. >> though we thought he was the shooter, at the same time, he deserved for us to -- verify his story. >> reporter: remember here's where juan said he was late in the day february 14th. >> me and my son went up to blockbuster. we ate dinner about, want to say, 7:30. by 10. 30. i was in bed. awe. >> reporter: there were ways to check of course. they talked to juan reyes' wife, ex-wife actually, living with him in an effort to reconcile. >> the first thing i told her was that juan had been having an affair with stacy quite some time. she wasn't happy about that. >> reporter: no she wasn't. but listen to this. the woman scorned still confirmed his alibi. >> he went to blockbuster while i was cooking, between 6:00 and 7:00.

he had taken, 6 and 7:30. he came home. in the room, laid down. want to bed. >> what time was that? >> e were watching the 10:00. last time i looked at the time it was 10:37. >> if she wanted to throw him under the bus, that was the time. >> she had a great opportunity. >> maybe juan was not your after all. >> correct. >> reporter: juan reyes was innocent. he didn't do it. well, where did that leave you? >> worried about my case. >> reporter: a case that had become personal for detective franklin. he felt look he knew richard. like he was mourning him somehow. >> i would sit at the scene. stand at the scene. reflect and sit there and tripe -- fry to go over things in my head and try to figure out what direction to take. >> reporter: what could he do? all he had to go on was tire tracks in the soft soil of the

clearing. could he useness to find his killer? not so easy. didn't even november the make of the tire. >> we looked on the internet. we were coming up empty. we want to car dealerships. we want to retail tire establishments. we would pull up next to cars at traffic lights and look what kind of tires they had on them. >> reporter: you were seeing them? >> no. any body we talked to we looked at their tires to be sure. >> reporter: one day in a tire store, a colleague pulled him out back. >> we pulled it. a good year integrity. >> reporter: that whittled it down. couldn't be more than millions of cars with goodyear integrity cars. the time franklin was contemplating that little problem. >> got a phone call from it technician at dekalb medical

center. >> reporter: out of the blue? >> yes. >> reporter: that's where the office was that stacy managed. the guy's job there was in part clearing the junk from employee e-mail accounts. >> he noticed that stacy's inbox for friday, saturday and sunday had been completely cleaned out. >> reporter: curious. that was the very weekend of the murder. so he thought enough to give us a call. >> reporter: was stacy, mama spread sheet, the cub scout den leader hiding something. or just accidentally hit delete too many times. of course, all of those delated files have been backed up. so, they got a warrant collected all of stacy's e-mail not just from that weekend, 4,000 e-mails in all. >> it was quite a task. >> a lot of it was spam. except two e-mails seemed, well they stood out. requests from stacy to her bank to transfer money out of something called a real estate account. >> a few weeks before the murder the first transfer. $8,902. the second transfer was the

friday before the murder on february 12th. $1,100. both times the money went into the account of somebody named lynitra ross. who turned out to be stacy's friend and work colleague and tenant. sunny was renting a house from stacy. so they went to have a talk with lynitra. how did she react? >> calm. cool. >> hiding anything? >> not based on what i was looking at. she seemed collected i asked her about the money transfer. rip he made an audio recording of the interview. >> how much money did you get overall? >> it has been, $8,900 at first. >> reporter: why did stacy give her $8,900. >> she transferred money to me for the repairs and stuff. >> she said they had redone the roof. the interior of the house carpet flooring and that kind of thing. >> reporter: the $1,100. still more repairs. >> then we got another leak.

main water valve. >> story made sense. and she was always cooperative. >> reporter: a simple business transaction. detective franklin was back where he started. >> yeah. it gets to the point where you are still, you know, looking for -- for ways to to move forward. >> it was march by then. close to a month since the murder. and they seemed to be going nowhere. what to do now? how about grasp at straws? >> a tower dump? >> shot in the dark. i took it. >> coming up a killer with a gun and a cell phone. about to make a big mistake. >> my way of thinking was if he was sitting there weight in the secluded dark place at night is he going to sit there and twiddle his thumbs, he'd make a phone call. had no idea. >> when "dateline" continues.

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reporter: one month into his investigation of the murder of richard schoek. detective franklin was stuck in the weed. >> i would sit down with my

supervisor. i'm worried about this case. he would tell me hang in there. it would take a small piece of information to break this thing loose. >> reporter: and sure enough. what do you know? the detective got a phone call. the caller was stacy's cousin connie. she had been troubled by something she told the detective. it took me a good three weeks contemplating should i call? should i not? >> reporter: after all stacy was like a big sister said connie. but there was just something wrong. like the strange business about her grandparents 2009 impalla. >> stacy was supposed to sell it tore them they were having problems they needed money for medical bills. >> reporter: after stacy took the car. >> a couple weeks later it would be back at her house. couple weeks later it wasn't. then it got to the point where she said she sold it for $16,000. >> reporter: yet stacy never

produced the money. >> the family was persistent about this car. finally we are like, likely it was used. we don't know where it is at. find the thing. >> reporter: ran the vin number. found the car. >> it's got good year integrities on it. at that pin the. i found the car that richard was killed from. >> reporter: which was great. except who was in it? no idea. detective franklin was still stuck. so, he took a long shot. he asked for something called a tower dump. information dump that is from this cell tower on the farm near the crime scene. >> i subpoenaed all calls generated from the tower that services the park from the night of the murder from 7:00 p.m. to 9:30. >> reporter: until 9:30 when stacy arrived and found richard. why start looking at 7:00 p.m.? >> it was aparent to me that the

gunman lay in wait for richard. so, my way of thinking was if he is sitting there weight in this secluded dark place at night is he going to sit there and twiddle his thumbs. maybe he will make a phone call. had no idea. >> reporter: if the killer called anybody it should show up on the tower's record of outgoing cell calls. four main your carriers on that tower. thousand of calls. but what number should he look for? why not play a hunch he had all along. >> stacy is involved some how. you have this third vehicle. at the scene. you have overkill. with the way richard died. so, based on all those things, a murder-for-hire starts crossing your mind. >> reporter: franklin's idea was to compare the numbers from the tower dump to the phone numbers on stacy's personal contact list. >> the best source of information i felt i had was stacy's can tact list. 258 contacts i think. >> reporter: if you could find any phone call coming from the crime scene that happened to be

on her contact list. that would give you a big -- >> some direction. >> reporter: lot of numbers to compare. then he got lucky. really lucky. maybe 150 numbers into his search. there it was. a match. >> it said reggie. >> the call placed at 8:40 p.m. >> 28-second call. >> richard left the grandparents house at 8:15. 15 minute drive from the grandparents house to the park. >> got there at 8:30. >> 8:30. >> we felt he was killed soon as he stepped out of the truck. looking at him dying some time, 8:30, 8:45. a call from reggie and stacy's contact list at 8:40 p.m. on the night of the murder. who was reggie? under reggie's name it said mr. results. >> franklin's next step naturally. >> i googled mr. results. the first link was mr. results, personal training. >> reginald coleman. personal trainer and former seem my professional boxer. and he held workout sessions at stacy's office. then detective franklin looked

at the number reggie called. >> i should have recognized it. i had it in my notes. it was lynitra ross. >> lynitra ross. the woman who claimed she received $10,000 for house repairs within three weeks of the murder. now the trail was warm. very warm. high pulled phone record for all three. reggie, lynitra, stacy. combed through hundreds of calls and texts. until. >> a very interesting sequence of calls actually emerged from that. >> reporter: a sequence. february 14th. it went like this. at 6:42 p.m. reggie called lynitra. at 6:45, lynitra called stacy. at 6:48, lynitra called reggie back. >> called and said are we still doing this? lynitra, called stacy. yes, he's here. i'll have him at the park. lynitra said go up there. until 8:40 when reggie's call was captured on the tower.

>> the call at 8:40 p.m. to lyntitra to reggie saying it's done. >> at 9:00 p.m. lynitra sent a text. happy valentine's day. >> is that a code? >> a code for, it's done, he's dead. all most there now. all he needed was a money trail to prove money for hire. so bank records. >> tedious work as phone record. >> guess what that $10,000, stacy transferred to lynitra from a real estate account for home repairs. only $1,800 went into that. the rest went to cash. lynitra wrote reggie a check for $700. >> within three weeks of the murder. the whole thing had come together at that point.

reggie the trigger man. middle person, lynitra. >> reporter: the mastermind, stacy. three months after the valentine's day murder of richard schoek. >> lynitra ross. >> aware of the charges. >> reggie coleman. stacy schoek were arrested and charged with murder. but then -- >> i told stacy, we can fipt -- can fight this. >> the surprise was coming, check that. surprises. more than one. stacy had a story to tell. >> coming up. >> is there ever an excuse for murder. >> having lived through that. i was never going to let it happen to my kids. all in this beautiful pandora keepsake box. and, right now, you'll save $220 on this amazing jared exclusive.

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reporter: three months after stacy schoek found her husband's body perforated body at belton bridge park. she and alleged confederates were under arrest for murder. just crazy. didn't make sense. a mother of three. cub scout leader. surely she would come up with a defense when she met with her attorney, max hirsch. but no. that's not what happened. far from it. >> she laid it all out. she didn't hesitate. she didn't minimize. she told me exactly what the plan was. >> reporter: the plan for murder. her lawyer no surprise had his own plan. i told stacy i know how we will defend this case. she looked me straight in the eye and without hesitation and said, no. the gig is up. i did this. what i did was wrong.

no more lies. >> reporter: stacy wanted to confess. it took a while to arrange it. but seven months after the murders with the recorder running, confess she did. >> i'm not going to keep lying. i'm done. i am done. you know? >> reporter: it all started over lunch with lynitra, when she told her friend she wished her husband was dead. and lynitra offered the services of her some times boyfriend, reggie. i was like, reggie, really? she was like, yeah, that's what he does. that's how he supplements his income. he does jobs. >> reporter: so said stacy, lynitra arranged for the three of them to meet. reggie agreed to kill richard. >> i was look how much cash? he was like, well, i was thinking $10,000. and i was like, okay. >> reporter: that was the $10,000 stacy transferred to lynitra. she gave the money to reggie.

stacy also agreed to give him her grandparents' 2009 impalla. yes that impalla. and a house, lynitra was renting from her. a week later, all three want to scout the crime scene. >> he was like, yeah, this is the perfect place. and he even made a comment that, i might have to use this place more often. >> reporter: the night of the murder said stacy reggie botched the plan. >> it was supposed to be a robbery. that's what he said. it was supposed to be one shot to the head. i don't want him to suffer or see anything. >> why would she possibly want to have richard killed? for that question, stacy offered this story. >> things started clicking in my brain what was happening with my kids and my family. and -- and i was -- convinced that kids were being harmed.

>> reporter: stacy said she believed richard was molesting her sons. they were acting out and, there was something one of them told her. >> you don't know what happens to me, what he does to me when you are not here. that kind of stuff, you know, that stuck mine brain for sure. >> reporter: to her, there was just one solution. >> i didn't want police. i didn't want a divorce. i just wanted him dead. >> reporter: so here it was her reason for murder. stacy said she had been molested as a child repeatedly. and she knew what it was like. >> having lived through that, i was never going to let it happen to my kids. >> did you ask the boys? >> no. not directly, not, not directly enough. not then. i have since. >> reporter: after her arrest her sons asked her, why? what would make you want to hurt him?

and she explained. >> people touched me in a bad way when i was a kid. i reacted in certain ways. some times your behaviors made me worry that you had been getting touched in a bad way. and the son who made the earlier statement to his mother responded. devastated. >> he said, no. he said no, he said i'm sorry i exaggerated. i'm sorry i said those things. i blew things out of proportion, mom. >> stacy was wrong. there was no abuse. >> now that's a hard thing to deal with too. now he has guilt. >> but was the motive she admitted real or was a more venal truth still withheld. there would be an answer. just not quite yet. we asked for an interview with stacy, prison rules wouldn't allow it. so her attorney spoke on her behalf. >> she understand completely what she did. she understands it is her fault richard schoek is dead.

she doesn't have excuses. >> stacy schoek pleaded guilty to murder. reggie coleman did the same. lynitra ross stood trial and was found guilty. all sentenced to life in prison without parole. the case solved. three convictions for the detective who poured through reams of phone numbers and sniffed out a murder-for-hire case. >> when your gut tells you something. go with it. if it makes sense, then that's probably what it is. >> pretty obvious if i ask you where this fits in your -- in your, in your catalog of cases. >> there will be another one like it, i'm pretty sure, i hope not. >> reporter: now finally, the last admission. a few days after stacy was sent away. richard's sister carol want to see her. glared at stacy through the glass partition. she didn't buy stacy's story for her reason for killing richard. i said, okay, stacy, this is it. i want to know. and i said, no bull. no lies. i want to know why you had

richard killed? >> reporter: there was a long pause. and then -- out it came. >> she said, because of my actions back then and because of the way i was living my life i knew that i couldn't divorce richard because if i divorced richard he would have enough of a chance to get custody of my kids which he had adopted legally and i couldn't let that happen. and i just looked at her. an i said, thank you, and i hung up the phone. >> reporter: but, if the answer satisfied some need to know, the pain was and is no different.

richard schoek is dead. his quirkiness, adventurous spirit, devotion to those boy scouts all gone. >> we had hey thing, called a richard fire. if it wasn't stoked up and burning bright and the flames almost licking the tree tops it wasn't a good fire. so if you want a richard fire that's the for you got to have. and when we are at scouting events, and we see the big fire, we built and the smoke coming up. we all talk about richard. that's all for now. i'm lester holt. thank you for joining us. next at is 1:00, the extra steps police are taking to keep shoppers safe. and a water main breaks. the weather alert for the bay area. cold ... and getting colder.

temperatures are plummeting across the bay area - a freeze warning is now in effect. right now at 11:00, cold and getting colder. temperatures are plummeting across the bay area and a freeze warning is now in effect. good evening i'm peggy bunker. >> and i'm jessica aguirre. bone chilling cold. here's a look at christmas in the park in downtown san jose. the crowds are braving the temperatures at this hour. we have